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Financial, legal and risk management services not “Included Services” In the case of US Technology Resources Private Ltd v. DDIT, the Kerala High Court (the “KHC”) has held that management, financial, treasury and risk management services, and advising on legal matters or undertaking public relations activities (collectively, the “Services”) provided by a non-resident to an…

Under India’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (the “Code”), a potential bidder (who has been party to or caused the indebtedness and insolvency of a company) can be disqualified from bidding for and submitting a resolution plan to rehabilitate the company.  The primary reason for this is to prevent such a bidder from deriving the…

Background On March 26, 2016, the Indian government promulgated the Aadhar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (the “Aadhar Act”) with the objective of, inter alia, providing good governance, and an efficient and transparent delivery of subsidies, benefits and services, to individuals residing in India by assigning of a…

Introduction In a recent judgment in the case of K. Kishan v. Vijay Nirman Company Pvt. Ltd., India’s Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”) has examined whether an insolvency process can be put into operation when there is a pending proceeding challenging an arbitral award. Background Vijay Nirman Company Pvt. Ltd. (the “Respondent”) entered into a…

Introduction India’s Specific Relief Act, 1963 (the “Act”) permits a party to seek specific performance of a contract as an alternative to seeking damages for breach of contract or failure to perform the contract under the Indian Contract Act, 1872. On January 28, 2016, the Indian government constituted an expert committee to examine the Act…

On July 27, 2018, the committee of experts under the chairmanship of Justice B. N. Srikrishna (the “Committee”) released a report titled, “A Free and Fair Digital Economy – Protecting Privacy, Empowering Indians” (the “Report”), with its analysis and recommendations on a new data privacy regime for India.  Along with the Report, the Committee has…

In India, under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (the “Takeover Regulations”), there exists a mandatory tender offer regime for acquisition of listed companies.  Under this regime, both, the acquisition of a substantial shareholding stake (25%) and the acquisition of “control” are treated equally, and require…

In a recent judgment in the matter of Coastal Marine Construction and Engineering Limited v. Garware-Wall Ropes Limited, the Bombay High Court (the “Bombay HC”) has examined whether Indian courts can act upon an unstamped arbitration agreement to constitute an arbitration panel.  This judgment is important in the backdrop of the amendment to Section 11…

In 2006, the Indian government introduced the concept of a director identification number (“DIN”), and consequently, an individual could be appointed as a director of a company only if he or she had obtained a DIN.  A DIN is allotted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs upon receipt of an application in a prescribed form…

Consolidated reporting form for foreign investment transactions On June 7, 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (the “RBI”) released a circular (the “Circular”) changing the reporting formats in all transactions involving issuance, or transfer of shares of Indian companies to foreign investors or vice versa.  Formerly, this was done by filing the Forms FC-GPR and…